Michigan State vs Rutgers Prediction, Odds & Best Bet for January 19 (Strong Defenses Lead to Low-Scoring Matchup)

Michigan State vs Rutgers Game Info

• 2022-23 NCAA Basketball Regular Season Game
• Michigan State (12-6, 4-3 Big Ten) vs. No. 23 Rutgers (13-5, 5-2 Big Ten)
• Date: Thursday, January 19, 2023
• Time: 6:30 PM ET
• Venue: Jack Breslin Students Events Center -- East Lansing, Michigan

Thursday, Jan. 19's NCAA college basketball schedule is filled with Big Ten action, including a showdown between the Michigan State Spartans and No. 23 Rutgers Scarlet Knights at 6:30 p.m. ET.

After impressing with a seven-game winning streak, Michigan State has now dropped back-to-back games to Illinois and Purdue, most recently losing 64-63 to the Boilermakers on Monday. Meanwhile, Rutgers has won seven of its last eight games and enters tonight's contest following a 68-64 victory over Ohio State.

Can Michigan State stop its skid before it grows even bigger? Or will Rutgers prove to be too much of a challenge in East Lansing?

Michigan State vs Rutgers Odds & Spread

• All college basketball betting lines, odds and prop bets are from FanDuel Sportsbook.
• Moneyline: MICHST: (-156) | RUTGER: (+130)
• Spread: MICHST: -2.5 (-115) | RUTGER: +2.5 (-105)
• Total: 126.5 -- Over: (-105) | Under: (-114)

Michigan State enters this contest as the slim favorite on the moneyline and spread per FanDuel Sportsbook's odds. This 6:30 p.m. ET clash also features an over/under of 126.5 points with the under being favored at -114.

Michigan State vs Rutgers Betting Trends

• Michigan State's record against the spread is 10-8-0.
• The Spartans have an ATS record of 5-5 as 2.5-point favorites or more.
• Michigan State has seen nine of its 18 games hit the over.
• Rutgers has 13 wins in 18 games against the spread this year.
• Against the spread as 2.5-point underdogs or more, the Scarlet Knights are 3-1.
• Rutgers has seen eight of its 18 games go over the point total.

Michigan State Rank	Michigan State AVG		Rutgers AVG	Rutgers Rank
228th	69.7	Points Scored	70.9	199th
81st	65.4	Points Allowed	56.9	4th
92nd	34.1	Rebounds	35.2	57th
265th	7.7	Off. Rebounds	10.2	68th
239th	6.9	3pt Made	5.9	315th
55th	15.3	Assists	15.3	55th
37th	10.6	Turnovers	11.5	98th

Michigan State vs Rutgers Prediction & Pick

Even though Michigan State is the betting favorite, I can see Rutgers getting the win tonight. For starters, the Spartans are coming off a loss to the Boilermakers — the same Purdue team that the Scarlet Knights beat at the start of January. Secondly, Michigan State has a losing record (2-3) against ranked teams this season.

Michigan State is also tasked with facing one of the top defenses in the country. Rutgers only allows 56.9 PPG (No. 4) with a plus-14.0 scoring margin (T-No. 6). At the same time, Michigan State has an unimpressive minus-2.0 clip in its last three games.

Another reason to like the Scarlet Knights' defense is that they average 9.8 steals (No. 7) with 4.2 blocks (T-No. 62). Needless to say, Michigan State's offense will be under pressure all night long and I think that Rutgers has what it takes to pull off the upset.

Final Score Prediction: Rutgers: 64 | Michigan State: 61

Michigan State vs Rutgers Best Bet

If you're a fan of defense, this game is for you. Michigan State and Rutgers are great at limiting scoring, allowing a combined 122.3 PPG. On top of that, the under has been hit in five of the Scarlet Knights' last six road games, as well as in six of the Spartans' nine home games thus far.

With the total also going under 126.5 points in two of the last three Michigan State-Rutgers matchups, I'm even more confident that we'll witness a low-scoring affair tonight.

Bet: Under 126.5 Points (-114)

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.

Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.